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Monica Kauppinen

Monica Kauppinen
Director of post-award and contract administration

Background and expertise:
Monica Kauppinen oversees the administration of more than $40 million in research grants and service contracts for University Enterprises, Inc., the campus’ non-profit auxiliary, as well as for Sacramento State’s academic colleges and student internship services.

Research and contract administration is a partnership between UEI and the University’s office of Academic Affairs. When a professor wins a grant, the staff serves as a liaison between faculty members and the agencies or businesses seeking faculty expertise. The office provides administration services such as monitoring budgets, preparing financial reports, and ensuring compliance with federal and state rules, which allows the faculty to focus on the actual research and writing.

“We have multiple constituencies we’re serving at any given time,” Kauppinen says.

Her path to this job wasn’t a direct route. “It was an evolution,” Kauppinen says. “I was the only art-history major in my MBA class.” She turned to business because she wanted to use those skills in a non-profit arena.

After starting off in marketing at the Easter Seal Society of Superior California, Kauppinen moved into program development and most recently served as a senior vice president of The Community College Foundation of California, overseeing a portfolio of contracts and outreach programs. Her MBA is from UC Davis and she received her bachelor’s degree in art history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Russell DiSilvestro

Russell DiSilvestro
Assistant Professor, Philosophy

Background and expertise:
DiSilvestro has a doctorate in philosophy from Bowling Green State University, Ohio and a master’s degree in philosophy of religion and ethics from Biola University, La Mirada, Calif. His expertise is in ethics and bioethics, especially contemporary issues such as abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, cloning and human-animal chimeras.

“I try to give my students an appreciation for the different views that have been held, and are held, by people debating a topic, and I also try to give them chances to explore how the topic relates to their own life.

“Although I’m reluctant to predict what new developments are on the horizon in biotechnology, the general pattern seems to be that today’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact. Still, no matter what your view is on a given biotechnology, I think we can all agree that just because we can do something doesn’t mean we should do it.”